I have to say Thank you!

This is a discussion on I have to say Thank you! within the Law Enforcement, Military & Homeland Security Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; I went camping this past weekend at the Red River Army Depot with some friends and one of the things we did was go to ...

I have to say Thank you!

I went camping this past weekend at the Red River Army Depot with some friends and one of the things we did was go to the Humvee staging area (the only thing I can think to call it) where there are rows and rows of humvees sitting in various stages of repair/disrepair.

I wanted to take the kids to show them some of the reasons the humvees were at this post, to be fixed or stripped of parts that can be reused.

I made sure to have a talk with my kids about some of the things they would see and to not joke around or climb on anything.

We walked around and they got to see bullet holes in doors, windshields and even some incendiary holes. I then sat them down and told them that someone may have died in one or several of these vehicles. I told them that one of the things that makes our military the best is it is made up of volunteers, men and women who willingly join knowing they may be called on to go in to dangerous areas where they may never come back home to see their families (my 9 yo daughter starts crying at this point).

With all that said, it hit home with me again how important of a job those of you who have served, in peace time or have been deployed to battle, are doing for our nation. It still hit me, and I wear a bracelet with the name of a friend of mine who was KIA in Afghanistan in '02.

Thank you, from me and my whole family! I know the military mindset and you don't think you are, but to us you are all heroes.

Thanks Paco!

True soldiers dont see themselves as heroes--just folks "stepping up to the plate" to do a job that NEEDS to be done. They see the true heroes as the spouses and kids back home who have to carry on with life while knowing that there are folks out there trying to kill/blow-up/shoot their spouse.

We currently have our oldest daughter, and 3 grandsons under our roof while dad (our son-in-law) is in the sandbox and daily see the strains on our daughter and grandsons............

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

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Where in the world did you find a dry place to camp at RRAD? I bet Elliot Lake was about to bust out of itself.

Glad you were able to share that with your kids, and glad they were able to comprehend the sacrafices some have made.

It was wet the whole time, the kids loved it. I also caught the only fish of the weekend, and it was on accident (I was reeling in the line to recast).

I can't say camp, we were in the cabins.

I think this was a very good lesson for them, most of them have been shooting or have seen videos of the others and the targets brought home, plus from watching Mythbusters or Time Warp on Discovery. So they know what guns can do, but when you see a bullet hole smack in the middle of a windshield and know there was a soldier right there, it will affect any one.

I have been stressing to my kids about service and the need for Americans to volunteer. I told them that I want to them to enlist, and they don't have to go to a combat specialty. I have told them that every job is vital in the military.

I can see my 7 yo Son as a Ranger, he is tough and meticulous. He has already pulled one of his own teeth when it was ready to come out, which would still freak out my 12 yo Son.

I wished I had taken pictures, but I was torn on that. I am not a reporter and was not doing anything other than teaching my kids about courage and duty. I felt it might be trampling on the place of a Soldier's death.